Recap and highlights: No. 4 Gonzaga starts quick, runs away from Santa Clara for 27th straight WCC road win

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Josh Perkins scored 18 points and dished out eight assists as fourth-ranked Gonzaga breezed by Santa Clara 98-39 on Thursday at the Leavey Center.

The victory extended the Bulldogs’ West Coast Conference road win streak to 27 games.

Zach Norvell Jr. and Rui Hachimura each added 16 points for the Zags (19-2, 6-0 WCC), while Corey Kispert (13 points), Brandon Clarke (12) and Filip Petrusev (12) also scored in double figures.

Josip Vrankic led Santa Clara (11-10, 2-4) with 12 points.

The Bulldogs shot 51.4 percent from the floor and 37 percent from deep, while holding SCU to 27.1 percent shooting overall and 16.7 percent from 3-point range.

The Zags committed just two turnovers, while forcing the Broncos into 18. GU outrebounded Santa Clara 44-27 and outscored the Broncs 48-18 in the paint.

Gonzaga travels to BYU next Thursday at 8 p.m. (ESPN2).

Second half

Final – Gonzaga 98, Santa Clara 39: Convincing win on both sides of the floor for the Bulldogs, who will be off again until next Thursday’s trip to BYU.

Six players in double figures for the Zags, while just two SCU players hit that mark.

1:52 – Gonzaga 98, Santa Clara 37: Scoring hasn’t slowed much with the Gonzaga starters on the bench.

Filip Petrusev quickly up to 10 points for the Zags, while Joel Ayayi gets in on the action with a nice putback bucket.

Santa Clara simply outmatched tonight.

7:14 – Gonzaga 88, Santa Clara 33: All-reserve lineup on the floor now for the Bulldogs as Corey Kispert heads to the bench after his 13-point effort.

Geno Crandall up to eight points quickly for GU, while Killian Tillie has struggled to get going with just one point in 18 minutes. Tillie again battling foul trouble (four fouls).

Points in the paint advantage is again huge for GU, who is dominating 42-16 down low. Points off turnovers also in GU’s favor 28-3. The Zags have forced 16 SCU turnovers, while having just two of its own.

9:56 – Gonzaga 81, Santa Clara 30: Looks like that might be it for Zach Norvell, Rui Hachimura, Brandon Clarke and Josh Perkins on the night – all of which finished in double figures.

Zags shooting 55.4 percent overall and 41 percent from deep. SCU’s percentage up to 32.4 overall, but that’s not enough to match GU’s dominance tonight.

Nice few minutes from Geno Crandall, who is up to five points, including a 3-pointer.

12:00 – Gonzaga 75, Santa Clara 28: Zags making it look too easy at the moment as the advantage has gone far beyond the 21-point betting line.

Perkins with a gem of a game as he’s up to 20 points and eight assists. Zach Norvell Jr. also nearing a double-double for GU with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Gonzaga’s reserves should get plenty of minutes down the stretch as Filip Petrusev and Jeremy Jones have already seen court time early in the second half.

Josip Vrankic up to 10 points for the Broncs.

15:55 – Gonzaga 64, Santa Clara 22: Gonzaga comes out of the break playing at 100 miles per hour on both sides of the court. Crisp ball movement on fast breaks leads to another Corey Kispert 3-pointer. Highlight reel dish from Josh Perkins nearly leads to a Rui Hachimura bucket, but the big man can’t get the shot to fall after drawing a foul.

The big play comes just one possession later though, as Corey Kispert grabs a rebound, quickly outlets the ball to Perkins who finds a trailing Brandon Clarke for the two-handed flush.

Zags just playing a different game than the Broncos at the moment.

Clarke and Kispert into double figures with 12 and 11 points respectively, while Perkins and Hachimura each have 16.

First half

Halftime – Gonzaga 53, Santa Clara 17: Bulldogs might be a little excited for a one-game week as they’re getting two games worth of scoring out of the way in the Leavey Center.

Josh Perkins and Rui Hachimura each with 14 points, while Brandon Clarke and Corey Kispert are at eight points. Zahc Norvell Jr. also knocking on the doorstep of double figures with nien points.

Zags shoot 56.8 percent from the floor and 46.2 percent from deep in the half, while Santa Clara shoots just 29.2 percent overall and 18.2 percent from 3-point range.

GU outrebounding SCU 24-7 and outscoring the Broncos 26-8 in the paint.

Zags just 20 minutes away from winning their 27th straight conference road game.

3:11 – Gonzaga 46, Santa Clara 10: Rui Hachimura now takes over the scoring lead for the Zags with 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting – most of which have been straight forward looks for the junior big man.

Zags shooting now up to 62 percent overall and 55.6 percent from deep. Efficient in every way for GU tonight, which put its foot on the gas from the opening tip.

Rebounding advantage also big for the Zags, as they’ve grabbed 20 boards to SCU’s five.

5:36 – Gonzaga 38, Santa Clara 9: Josh Perkins having one of his best offensive halves of the year as he’s up to 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting. Zach Norvell Jr. also heating up after taking a short break. He’s hit a pair of 3-pointers and is up to seven points.

Zags dominating in every stat so far, mirroring the blowout earlier this month against the Broncos in Spokane.

GU also doing a great job of sharing the ball with 10 assists on 15 makes.

Josip Vrankic leading SCU with four points.

9:17 – Gonzaga 24, Santa Clara 6: Corey Kispert has it going from deep as he hits his second triple of the game. He’s up to six points.

First call to the bench for GU coach Mark Few gives Rui Hachimura and Zach Norvell Jr. a break as Killian Tillie and Geno Crandall get some minutes.

Couple of nice drives from GU’s Josh Perkins gives the senior point guard seven points to lead all scorers. He’s getting to the bucket with ease as the Broncs look a step slow on the defensive end.

Zags shooting 58.8 percent overall, while holding SCU to 21.4 percent from the floor.

15:00 – Gonzaga 11, Santa Clara 0: Plenty of power inside for the Bulldogs over the opening minutes as Brandon Clarke and Rui Hachimura have combined for eight points.

Outside game isn’t too shabby either for the Zags, as Corey Kispert hits an early triple.

GU’s length also causing the Broncos fits on the defensive end, as Santa Clara has been forced into tough shot after tough shot.

Record watch is also on tonight for Clarke, who is seven blocks away from setting a new GU single-season record.

Gonzaga sticks with same starting 5

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